Elevator-hatch way



v (No Model.)

I W. CARTER.

V ELEVATOR HATC-HWAY.

No. 363,506. Patented May 24, 1887.

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QZZ'AW art to which said invention appertains to make UNITED STATES PATENT OFF CE.

WILLARD M. CARTER, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

ELEVATO R- HATCHWAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 363,506, dated May 24, 1887.

Application filed March .23, 1887. i

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLARD M. CARTER, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk, State of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Elevators, of which the following is a description sufficient] y full, clear, and exact to enable any person skilled in the and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which-- Figure l is a vertical longitudinal section of an elevator embodying my improvements, taken on the dotted line y y in Fig. 3, certain portions not deemed essential being omitted or represented as broken away; Fig. 2, a horizontal section taken on the dotted line m min Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a side elevation of the gate and its immediately-connected parts as viewed from the carriage and looking outward, the gate being represented as fully raised; Fig. 4, an enlarged top plan viewof the outer portion of one of the spring-arms; Fig. 5, a side elevation of the same; Fig. 6, an enlarged front elevation of one of the cam-plates detached; and Fig. 7, a horizontal section of said plate, taken on the line 2 z in Fig. 6.

Like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures of the drawln s.

lily invention relates to that class of elevators which are provided with means for automatically opening and closing the gates or doors which open into the well from the various floors of the building through which the carriage passes; and it consists in a novel construction and arrangement of parts,as hereinafter more fully set forth and claimed, the object being to produce a more effective and otherwise desirable device of this character than is now in ordinary use.

The nature and operation of the improvement will be readily understood by all conversant with such matters from the following explanation.

In the drawings, A represents the well or well-room, B the carriage, and O the ways in which the carriage runs, these being all of the ordinary form and construction, excepting as hereinafter set forth. A door, D, opens into the well on each floor E of the building through which the carriage B passes, each door Serial N 0. 232,075. (No model.)

having a gate, H, which is fitted to slide vertically in ways m, and provided with a counterbalancing-weight,f, in the usual manner, the gate being of such height as to properly close the door when it is lowered, and not to interfere with the heads of passengers enter ing or leaving the carriage.

Attached to the inner face of the door H, at 63 either side thereof and near the bottom, there is a plate, J, which is grooved longitudinally on its outerside, asshown at r. This groove flares at either end, as shown at z, and is enlarged or expanded at the center, as shown 65 at o.

Projecting horizontally from the upper portion of the frame-work b, at either side of the carriage B, there is an arm, K, provided with abrace, d, and secured to the outer end of each of said arms there are two elastic plates, h h, arranged in parallelism on the same plane, and provided with thickened ends or gibs Z, which are rounded on their outer or opposite sides. 7

The arms K extend outwardly from the frame-work b in the direction of the gate, and are of such length and so arranged with respect to the plates J thereon that when the carriage passes up and down the well A the So outer ends of the elastic plates h will pass through the grooves r, and by engaging the curved sides of said grooves open or shut the gate, as the case may be. For instance, the gates H on the respective floors of the building being down or closed and the carriage B at the bottom of the well A, if, now, the carriage is started on its upward journey, when it reaches the first floor the outer ends of the elastic plates h will enter thelower ends of the grooves r in the plates J and be caused to engage the curved sides of said grooves at 2', (see Fig. 6,) thereby compressing said elastic plates or forcing the members of each pair of the same to gether, and as the carriage continues to ad- 5 Vance the friction between the elastic plates and the sides of the groove will becomeso great that the gate will be raised and carried upward with the carriage, thereby opening the door D, in a manner which will be readily obvious :00 without a more explicit description.

When the gate reaches the upper end of its run, it 'strikes the cross-timber or top of the door w and is stopped, and as the carriageB continues to rise the plates h pass out of the upper ends of the grooves r in the plates J, whereupon the gate drops and again closes the door D, the gates on the respective floors of the building being successively opened and closed in substantially the same manner as the carriage progresses upward.

When the carriage descends, any gate which has been accidentally opened and left open will be closed by the plates h entering the upper ends of the grooves r,engaging their curved or flaring sides 6, and forcing the gate downward until it strikes the floor E, when said plates will pass out of the lower ends of said grooves and the carriage continue its downward journey, leaving the gate closed.

It will be obvious that the carriage will readily pass all closed gates as it descends without disturbing them, the elastic plates h passing into the upper and out of the lower ends of the grooves r in the fixed plates J. The elastic plates h ordinarily possess sutficient rigidity to enable the gate to be raised or depressed, as the case may be, before said plates are fully compressed, or before they have fully entered the flaring or curved ends 2' of the grooves r in the plates J but as it sometimes occurs that a gate binds in its Ways,or for some other reason requires more than the usual amount of force to move it, the grooves r are enlarged near their centers and provided with outwardly-curved sides 1), said curves being sharper or more acute than the curves of the sides at i, so that in case the gate sticks and the elastic plates pass out of the flaring endsi of the groove 1 without raising or lowering it, as the case may be, said plates will fall into the enlarged portion '0 of said groove, and thereby engage the plate J with sufficient force to move the gatea contingency which seldom occurs when all of the parts are in proper working order.

It will be understood that the gate H is slightly heavier than its counterbalancingweight f, thereby permitting the gate to be closed by gravitation, under ordinary circumstances, after being opened by the carriage on its upward journey.

I do not confine myself to the use oftwo arms K, having elastic plates h, and two grooved plates J, as one arm and one plate may be employed when centrally disposed, although two are preferable, as they serve to raise the gate more evenly and tend to prevent seasce it from binding or cramping in its ways or run. Neither do I confine myself to the use of two elastic plates h at the end of each of the arms K, as one of said plates for each arm will answer when two arms are employed; nor to centrally enlarging the groove 1", as shown at o, as this featuremay be omitted, if desired; nor to the use of the Weightf; nor to using elastic plates h, as elastic rods or any other suitable springs may be employed.

Having thus explained my invention, what I claim is- 1. In an elevator of the character described,

the combination of the following instrumentalities, to wit: a carriage, an arm projecting from said carriage and provided with springs at the outer end, a gate fitted to slide vertically in a doorway opening into the well of the elevator, and a plate secured to the inner side of said gate and adapted to engage said springs, said plate beingprovided on its outer face with a groove having flaring ends, through which the outer ends of said springs pass as said carriage passes said gate, the springs being adapted to engage the sides of said groove and the gate to be opened or closed in overcoming the friction between said springs and plate, substantially as shown and described.

2. In an elevator of the character described, the combination of the carriage B, having an arm or arms, It, provided with elastic plates or springs h, in combination with the gate H, having a plate or plates, J, provided with a flaring groove or grooves, r, substantially as described.

3. In anelevator of the character described, thegate H, having a plate, J, provided with the flaring groove 1*, said groove being enlarged or widened, as shown ate, in combination with the carriage B, having the arm K, provided with the elastic plates or springs h, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

4. The plate J attached to the gate H, said plate being provided with the groove r, flared at each end, as shown at i, and enlarged or widened at a point between its ends, as shown at o, in combination with a carriage, and springs on said carriage adapted to enter said groove, engage its sides, and open or close the gate, substantially as shown and described.

- W'ILLARD M. CARTER. Vitnesses:

O. M. SHAW, E. L. SAWYER. 

